GRAMMYS

The Viral Drake And The Weeknd AI Song Was Submitted To The Grammys And It’s ‘Absolutely Eligible,’ The Recording Academy Explained

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Back in April, Universal Music Group issued a takedown notice after an AI-generated song imitating Drake and The Weeknd went viral on YouTube, but that somehow isn’t stopping the song from being considered for a Grammy Award. The song’s creator, an anonymous internet denizen going by “Ghostwriter,” has submitted the song to the Recording Academy, and it sounds like it’ll be taken seriously despite its dubious provenance.

The song, “Heart On My Sleeve,” used approximations of the two performers to sing a mopey breakup ballad supposedly about Selena Gomez (who was previously romantically involved with The Weeknd). It also generated plenty of criticism online from detractors who believed that its popularity undermined the creativity and individuality of the artists invoked. As one Twitter user put it, “The first immediate thing that stands out is that so much of this AI music is going after rap/hip hop and that’s how you can tell the people behind it have contempt for it.”

Apparently, that contempt extends to the Recording Academy (because of course it does). The Academy CEO, Harvey Mason, Jr., told The New York Times, “As far as the creative side, it’s absolutely eligible because it was written by a human.” I’m not so sure that’s the case (one generative AI “writes” Drake songs based on prompts provided by users after scraping existing Drake songs for cues), but Drake himself generally seems to frown on the illegal use of his likeness (or, in this case, his voice) for AI-generated songs, so that would be enough for me to disqualify this thing from contention — but I’m not an Academy member (yet) so, what do I know?

The Academy announced that AI-generated songs would be eligible in June, provided the songs were actually written by people, but despite later clarifications, it’s unclear how exactly the Academy intends to verify authorship.

Fat Joe Reflects On The Time He & Big Pun Waited In Line For Eminem’s “Slim Shady LP”

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Fat Joe and Big Pun is one of the most important friendships in New York hip-hop, resulting in a cultural shift and a lot of great music. While Pun tragically passed away, Joe still honors his memory and does right by him with everything he does. For example, the rapper recently sat down with the Rap Radar podcast and recalled a wholesome story of their experiences before attending the Grammys in 1999 for their nomination. The night before, they waited in line like regular people for The Slim Shady LP by Eminem at Tower Records in Los Angeles. At the height of their fame, they never stopped being fans, especially for someone they liked as much as Marshall Mathers.

“Eminem is a god,” Fat Joe told the show’s co-hosts. “I don’t give a f**k who or what you think, he’s a god. Somebody [who] shifted the whole algorithm when he came up. Me and Big Pun, Big Pun was the fist Latino to sell two million records solo. We’re nominated for a Grammy, and the night before we go to the Grammys, we are waiting [in] line in L.A. at Tower Records for f***ing Eminem’s album. On line, nominated for a Grammy, me and Big Pun on line to get that motherf***in’ Eminem album. You tell me he ain’t a rap god.”

Read More: N.O.R.E Tears Up While Remembering Big Pun

Fat Joe Tells The Story Of How He Waited In Line For The Slim Shady LP With Big Pun

Big Pun received a nomination for Best Rap Album for his debut, Capital Punishment. When he lost to Jay-Z’s Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life, he apparently didn’t take it well. “Big Pun was nominated for two Grammys,” Fat Joe explained to XXL in March. “He went and got the finger waves like Dru Down. It’s that iconic picture where we look like the Kingpin. The big-a** suits. I remember when we went to the Grammys, they had told us that they do the hip-hop awards before, and we lost. Ricky Martin was doing the ‘Living La Vida Loca’ and I’m looking around. It’s Aretha Franklin. It’s Kirk Franklin. I waited my whole life to get there.

“Pun was like, ‘Yo, f**k these people, man,’” he continued. “‘They jerked us.’ I was like, ‘What?’ and he was like ‘Let’s go.’ I was like, ‘Yo, Pun, are you serious?’ He was like, ‘Yo, let’s go. F**k that, you my brother, let’s go.’ I was like, ‘Aight, f**k it. We gotta go.’ That was a big moment for us. We left. We left the Grammys. And we were strapped, like the cover, at the Grammys.” For more news on Big Pun’s legacy and the latest updates on Fat Joe, keep checking in with HNHH.

Read More: Fat Joe Reflects On Hip-Hop 50 Live Concert: “It’s Like Heaven”

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Grammys CEO Explains Rules Surrounding AI In Music

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CEO of The Recording Academy, Harvey Mason Jr., recently clarified rules surrounding the eligibility of music created using artificial intelligence. Mason explained that though music incorporating AI is “absolutely eligible” for Grammy Awards, most of the work must have been done by a human. “We’re not going to be giving a nomination or an award to an AI computer or someone who just prompted AI,” he explained. “That’s the distinction that we’re trying to make. It’s the human award highlighting excellence, driven by human creativity.”

“The human portion of the of the composition, or the performance, is the only portion that can be awarded or considered for a Grammy Award,” Mason told Variety. “So if an AI modeling system or app built a track — ‘wrote’ lyrics and a melody — that would not be eligible for a composition award. But if a human writes a track and AI is used to voice-model, or create a new voice, or use somebody else’s voice, the performance would not be eligible, but the writing of the track and the lyric or top line would be absolutely eligible for an award.”

Read More: Pusha T’s Response Diss Track To Jim Jones Surfaces, But It’s A.I.-Generated

Mason Says Music Using AI Is Eligible For Grammys

Lately, a growing number of artists have been experimenting with the use of AI in music. Some have even managed to generate entirely new tracks using the voices and styles of other musicians. The use of AI in music has been pretty controversial. Some believe that once an artist incorporates artificial intelligence into their music, it can no longer be considered their own. Others see it as simply a valuable tool to streamline creative processes.

Styles P recently weighed in on the discussion, taking a hard stance against the use of AI. “I don’t dig it, I don’t like artificial anything, especially not artificial intelligence,” he revealed, “God made Man. Man-made Machine. Machine is thinking better than Man, and that is God.”

Read More: Big Daddy Kane Isn’t Threatened By AI But Fears Its Impact On New Rappers

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The Recording Academy Clarified That AI Music Is ‘Absolutely Eligible’ For Grammy Nominations (With A Catch)

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Just a few weeks after the Recording Academy announced new rules to guard AI from being fully included in the Grammys main categories, the CEO/President Harvey Mason Jr. opened up to The Associated Press about how they will actually be adapting.

“Here’s the super easy, headline statement: AI, or music that contains AI-created elements, is absolutely eligible for entry and for consideration for Grammy nomination. Period,” Mason said. “What’s not going to happen is we are not going to give a Grammy or Grammy nomination to the AI portion.”

Mason went on to clarify that if “what is performing is not human creation” as a lead vocal, it would be included for a songwriting nomination, but not a performance one. “Conversely, if a song was sung by an actual human in the studio, and they did all the performing, but AI wrote the lyric or the track, the song would not be eligible in a composition or a songwriting category,” he added.

Basically put, the Grammys won’t be shutting out AI completely — as long as a real-life artist or team plays a larger role on the nominated piece.

“As long as the human is contributing in a more than de minimis amount, which to us means a meaningful way, they are and will always be considered for a nomination or a win,” he noted. “We don’t want to see technology replace human creativity. We want to make sure technology is enhancing, embellishing, or additive to human creativity. So that’s why we took this particular stand in this award cycle.”

The Recording Academy will announce their nominations for the 2024 ceremony on November 10.

When Are The 2024 Grammys?

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The dust may never settle from Harry Styles winning Album Of The Year instead of Beyoncé at the 2023 Grammys, but the show must go on. And on Thursday morning, June 29, The Recording Academy revealed when it will try to redeem itself in 2024.

“We can hear the music already, can you?” The Recording Academy tweeted. “The 66th GRAMMYs nominees will be revealed on Nov. 10th, 2023 ahead of the Music’s Biggest Night’s return on Feb. 4th, 2024, which will air LIVE on @CBS from @cryptocomarena.”

This past February, the 2023 Grammys were also broadcast live from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Trevor Noah hosted for a third consecutive year, doing God’s work by introducing Adele to The Rock. While Beyoncé’s Renaissance didn’t claim Album Of The Year, she still set the record for the most-ever career Grammy wins by winning Best Dance/Electronic Music Album.

“There are some other key dates to keep in mind as well. For starters, the eligibility window for works to be considered is from October 1, 2022 to September 15, 2023,” Uproxx detailed upon The Recording Academy’s Thursday announcement. “After that, the first round of voting for Academy members will run from October 11 to 20, while the final round of voting will take place from this December 14 to January 4, 2024.”

When Are Grammy Nominations Announced For 2024?

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The 2024 Grammy Awards are still months away, but as we enter the second half of the year, some buzz is starting to build over who will be honored during music’s biggest night. The Recording Academy added a spark today (June 29) when they answered some major questions about next year’s ceremony. For example: When will the nominations for the 2024 Grammys be announced?

The answer for when the 66th Annual Grammy Award nominees will be unveiled is November 10, 2023. More news about how that process will go down should be revealed closer to then.

There are some other key dates to keep in mind as well. For starters, the eligibility window for works to be considered is from October 1, 2022 to September 15, 2023. After that, the first round of voting for Academy members will run from October 11 to 20, while the final round of voting will take place from this December 14 to January 4, 2024.

Then, there’s the actual show itself, which is currently scheduled for February 4, 2024 at Crypto.com Arena.

This news comes after the Academy shared some changes to the 2024 awards. For one, they’ve added three new categories: Best African Music Performance, Best Alternative Jazz Album, and Best Pop Dance Recording. They also revealed that the big four categories will have fewer nominees, and they outlined policies on music made using AI technology.

The Grammys Will Now Have Fewer Nominees For The ‘Big Four’ Categories

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The Recording Academy gives and the Recording Academy takes away. After announcing that it had added categories in African music, jazz, and pop fields to next year’s Grammys earlier this week, the Academy revealed further changes today. Among them: making AI music eligible to win awards (under certain circumstances) and contracting the nomination fields among the so-called “Big Four” awards. Now, there will only be eight nominees for the Best New Artist and Album, Song, and Record of the Year instead of 10, according to Variety.

This returns them to their size in 2021 when they were expanded in an effort to “honor more artists and shine a light on more great music, and potentially offer a greater opportunity for more genres of music to be honored,” according to Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. Reducing the number of nominees to pre-2021 levels could also help by reducing the length of the show and consolidating voting for difficult choices and dark horses.

The move had proved to be controversial, with some questioning whether it was a bid to ensure that the permanently popular Taylor Swift would get nominated and thus be obligated to appear at the show, boosting its television ratings. The Academy denied those accusations. In any case, it’d have been a Pyrrhic victory at best; the other beneficiary of the expansion was Kanye West, who spent much of the past two years being a lightning rod for controversy.

In addition to the above-mentioned changes the Academy announced that the existing categories of Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical and Producer of the Year, Non-Classical have been moved to the General Field. Meanwhile, to qualify for nomination in Album of the Year, credited contributors must appear for at least 20% of the album’s runtime; this was likely updated as album credits have exploded in size in recent years due to artists like Beyoncé crediting more collaborators and sampled artists while avoiding lawsuits.

AI Music Is Eligible To Win Grammy Awards Under The Right Circumstances, Per New Recording Academy Rules

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The 2024 Grammy Awards will be a bit different than ceremonies from prior years. For instance, The Recording Academy revealed earlier this week that three new categories have been added: Best African Music Performance, Best Alternative Jazz Album, and Best Pop Dance Recording. Now, the Academy has also addressed AI music and the eligibility of works created using artificial intelligence.

As Variety reports, there are new “Artificial Intelligence (AI) Protocols” that essentially say music made purely by AI cannot be nominated for a Grammy. However, human-created work made using AI technology is eligible, so long as there’s a significant human contribution.

Here’s what it says in full:

“The GRAMMY Award recognizes creative excellence. Only human creators are eligible to be submitted for consideration for, nominated for, or win a GRAMMY Award. A work that contains no human authorship is not eligible in any Categories. A work that features elements of A.I. material (i.e., material generated by the use of artificial intelligence technology) is eligible in applicable Categories; however: (1) the human authorship component of the work submitted must be meaningful and more than de minimis; (2) such human authorship component must be relevant to the Category in which such work is entered (e.g., if the work is submitted in a songwriting Category, there must be meaningful and more than de minimis human authorship in respect of the music and/or lyrics; if the work is submitted in a performance Category, there must be meaningful and more than de minimis human authorship in respect of the performance); and (3) the author(s) of any A.I. material incorporated into the work are not eligible to be nominees or GRAMMY recipients insofar as their contribution to the portion of the work that consists of such A.I material is concerned. De minimis is defined as lacking significance or importance; so minor as to merit disregard.”

So far, Grimes has been the most notable artist to dive headfirst into AI music: A song featuring “GrimesAI,” how tracks using an AI version of her voice are credited, was released last month.

The Recording Academy Added Three New Categories Under The Pop, Jazz, And African Music Fields For 2024

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Next year’s Grammy Awards will have a variety of new categories, addressing some of the criticisms that prior ceremonies missed out on crucial opportunities to honor works in genres that are often overlooked by the mainstream tastes of the Recording Academy at large. The Recording Academy added three new categories, including best African music performance, best alternative jazz album, and best pop dance recording, according to Billboard.

Since voters can only vote in three genre-specific fields (in addition to the general categories), the producer of the year, non-classical and songwriter of the year, non-classical categories are being moved to the general field where best new artist and album, record, and song of the year already reside. This turns the Big Four into the Big Six, I guess.

In a statement, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said:

“The Recording Academy is proud to announce these latest category changes to our awards process. These changes reflect our commitment to actively listen and respond to the feedback from our music community, accurately represent a diverse range of relevant musical genres, and stay aligned with the ever-evolving musical landscape. By introducing these three new categories, we are able to acknowledge and appreciate a broader array of artists – and relocating the producer of the year and songwriter of the year categories to the general field ensures that all our voters can participate in recognizing excellence in these fields. We are excited to honor and celebrate the creators and recordings in these categories, while also exposing a wider range of music to fans worldwide.”

The new awards bring the total number of categories up to 94, the most the Grammys have had since 2010’s peak of 109. Billboard has a complete breakdown of the new categories, which will help honor artists in genres like Afrobeats, Amapiano, and High Life, while reducing friction when artists like Beyoncé work in genres like dance so they aren’t competing with full-time EDM artists.

Snoop Dogg Recalled What Queen Latifah Said To Ease His Pain After Losing To Her At The Grammys

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This is a celebratory year for Snoop Dogg, marking 50 years since hip-hop’s birth and 30 years since the release of his debut album. Doggystyle is supposed to receive a sequel album from Snoop and Dr. Dre appropriately (or inappropriately, depending on who you ask) titled Missionary.

As Billboard relayed in April, Audible is also commemorating 50 years of hip-hop with original programming.

“Snoop’s Words + Music: From the Streets to the Suites will debut June 15 and honor the 30th anniversary of Doggystyle,” Billboard‘s Carl Lamarre wrote on April 21. “According to a press release, From the Streets will find Snoop reflecting ‘on his coming-of-age journey from the streets of Long Beach to around the world and his decision to pursue love and life over death and destruction.’ It also touches on his days ‘from singing in the church choir as a boy to meeting Dr. Dre and eventually buying Death Row Records.’”

On Sunday, June 11, HipHopDX shared an advanced snippet from the Audible Original that finds Snoop specifically recalling “Gin And Juice” being nominated at the 37th Grammy Awards in 1994.

“Queen Latifah approached me about that song, right? ‘Cause me and her was nominated for a Grammy — that song against ‘U.N.I.T.Y.,’ and she won. And I was hurt,” Snoop said in the clip. “But she was like, ‘N****, I love ‘Gin And Juice.’ That’s my favorite sh*t,’ so then I got unhurt fast.”

He continued, “You know, a muthaf*cka gets hurt ’cause he lose and sh*t, but I’m like, damn, this is the Queen, n****. Bow down. This is the muthaf*ckin’ queen, and she told me that. She said, ‘But I love ‘Gin And Juice.’ That’s my favorite sh*t.’ So, I was like, you know what? I can take that L.”

Snoop’s “Gin And Juice” lost to Latifah’s “U.N.I.T.Y.” in the Best Rap Solo Performance category.

Snoop Dogg has been nominated for 16 Grammys throughout his iconic career but is still awaiting his first win.